Review: The Knife of Never Letting Go

For some reason the ‘view spoiler’ function isn’t working – you can click here to see the original post on Goodreads where the link works properly

I started out by loving this book. I loved the way Ness used single short sentences as whole paragraphs combined with simple repetition to convey depth of feeling. There were some beautiful insights into the main character Todd’s thoughts, and some unique similes that made me unable to put it down.

By far the best character was Manchee, Todd’s dog. It was a dog he hadn’t wanted and, in his loveless life, was going to be hard for him to love. But Manchee was gorgeously loyal and loved unconditionally, the way dogs do. It was obvious their relationship would grow strong and Manchee was going to be a key character.

So anyone who’s read this book is probably aware now why my rating is so low, right?

Now there are exceptions to that ‘rule’ (which you will know if you’ve read the link) but neither of them apply to this book: we already hated the antagonist, and we cannot empathize with why the act occurred.

And Todd never deals with it. Just a flippant (view spoiler)[‘Oh, that’s the space my dog used to occupy’ (hide spoiler)]. I’ll go so far as to say (view spoiler)[poor old Manchee was only ever a plot device. Todd didn’t love him in the beginning, and never grew to love him properly, and never mourned him, because even Ness was distancing himself. Because even Ness knew it was wrong. (hide spoiler)]

Anyway, I subconsciously distanced myself from the story after that. I didn’t mean to, and I really tried not to let it get to me, but the damage was done. I lost my ability to suspend my disbelief. I lost interest in the characters and their goal. I noticed how every character (view spoiler)[except Manchee (hide spoiler)] rose and re-rose from insurmountable odds (like death) like Terminator machines. And those short ‘paragraphs’ and repetition became annoying and constant. Especially in the waterfall scene where Todd had become more mature; the style jarred.

The ending was a let-down and I can see no reason to read the next instalment.